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Posts tagged ‘Coldwell Banker’

It appears my anger has subsided…..it was replaced with sadness the following day then I basically just got over it….working yesterday helped a lot…..and venting to my mom….she always calls at just the right time! ha ha! I suppose this is just to be expected….this rollercoaster of emotion…….

It helps when I dig my nose into some work…….being self employed there is always LOTS to be done……but there are other things as well….calls to the VA….resheduling doctors appointments….dealing with my car window…..crappy financial stuff and calls to insurance companies……things I don’t “normally” do but have taken on while Paul is incapacitated…….

See, we have a division of labor here in our house…….there are Paul’s “things” and there are my “things”…..sometimes I have to tell the kids “You are asking the wrong parent”……like if it’s a Math question, that’s a Paul question……I handle English……He takes care of anything involving engines….I don’t even like to pump my own gas but I will…..but car repairs or anything I can’t stand doing……they are greasy and gross….ha ha ha! BUT I take care of the entire household maintenance…..grocery lists, kids chores, cleaning and laundry so that is a pretty fair trade as far as I am concerned…..but I am finding I am having to take on more and more……I am out of my comfort zone…..

Truth be told, it’s not like I CAN’T do it……I mean, I have spent MANY a year single and self-sufficient and caring for my own vehicle and paying my own bills, etc. I refurbished an entire home so I can do pretty much any kind of home repair project and I have mowed many a lawn……..not that I can’t……I just don’t “Like” ha ha ha! guess I need to suck it up and just do it!

One thing I AM getting excited for is getting through this weekend and focusing more on Little Dog Entertainment. For those that don’t know, Paul and I are both small business owner’s. Little Dog Entertainment is our booking agency. When Paul went into music full-time 15 months ago he went out to hustle up gigs and spent time working with event planners and wedding planners. They would often ask if he “knew of a classical guitar player or a string quartet?” so our booking agency was born! Just like we did as Realtors, we are bringing buyers (event planners) and sellers(our musicians) together and the musicians pay us a little off the top for finding them work. It’s a win-win and everyone is happy! We LOVE working this company….a LOT!

I also run LolaBelle’s Treats, my dog treat/food business. We work Farmer’s Markets and have many regular customers who see us for our homemade dog treats and out homemade dog food. We also do some boarding and sitting and we have a line of hand-made dog sweaters and toys. We have been giving some thought to being a distributor for Blue Buffalo as well. The whole idea behind this was to generate enough money to eventually open a store front in Portland with doggie daycare. I have never been interested in the grooming aspect but there has been a bit of a void since Critter Love shut down and this town could DEFINATELY support a doggie daycare/retail store. So that has been the ultimate goal……funding being the main issue of course….

When I lost my “real” job last July we decided to make a go of this full-time. We were both receiving our unemployment benefits and if there was ever a time to “go for it … it was then. We agreed that if one of the businesses really started to take off we would work together on that business. The fact of the matter is, Paul and I are dynamite when we work together. Working real estate as a team for all those years proved it. When we work together we are AMAZING….so we knew eventually one would pull us in…

…we have spent this entire time giving that decision to God……I would even speak it out loud……that we would look to Him to lead us in the direction we needed to go……and we really feel pulled towards the booking agency……

I love LolaBelle’s and all our wonderful customers and we WILL continue to run it as a part-time venture just like I have been doing for the past 3 years…..besides, it’s still a sweet little money-maker so I have no intentions of giving that up…..I may hand it over to the kids in 6-12 months and let them work it while I supervise and manage their money….but again, we will still be working our markets just like always…..but things like putting my food into vet’s offices and going retail…..that has to wait…..

So this Saturday is the Rockport Market Days and they are also having the Nautical Market next door so we anticipate LolaBelle’s Treats making a big HAUL this Saturday! And LOOK! Lola fetched this article from the Rockport Pilot showing the Maritime Museum if offering very inexpensive nauticle antique appraisals! Cool! I offered Rachel a cut of the profits and she has been making my Peanut Butter and Chicken Chip Treats. Her Grandma has taught her GREAT cookie making skills so she is a natural at baking. Nothing would thrill me more than to hand the reigns of this over to her in a year or two so I am giving her an opportunity to step up if she wants it. If not her brother might want it…..or not….and that’s ok too……

So for now we stay small 😀 and we will continue to take care of all our regulars and maybe a few more new customers too! But our big expansion dreams are being put on the back burner….and that’s ok!

When Paul was in the hospital, I had the opportunity to work Little Dog Entertainment more than I ever had and let me say this……I LIKED IT!…….talk about a blast from the past…..I was talking to people and making DEALS…..and there is nothing that gets this girl’s blood pumping MORE than working a business DEAL…..Paul gets it…..I was smelling the blood in the water…..I wanted to book that event…..we were talking numbers and possibilities on how to make this bride’s event even BETTER!……I was in my element…….and I didn’t realize how much I missed it until that very moment sitting in the hospital parking lot……

I am not sure I even realized how devastating it was to me to lose our real estate business. Paul and I poured our heart and soul into it and built it up to tremendous success and to have it all end so quickly was shocking and devastating….emotionally….financially……it was a sad day when we decided, together, that we HAD to cut bait and move on…..we let our licenses (including Paul’s Brokers License) expire…..we ended all our advertising contracts…..and it died……it was horrible……

and that’s how I knew LDE was the way to go……I had that same feeling I had when Paul and I still worked in “The Shack” in Rockport…..our friends remember……that was one of the GREATEST times of our marriage was working together in The Shack at Coldwell Banker in Rockport…..and how I felt sitting in that truck in that hospital parking lot was the EXACT same feeling……and that’s good enough for me……

So plans are in place….my marketing campaign is starting to come together…..and we are going “old school” here….I am talking “shaking hands and kissing babies”…..I know how to work it…and Paul can come with or Paul can stay home and work the phones……this WILL work….I KNOW it…..

So, now after reading this entire blog post this is where I insert my Shameless Self-Promotion of which my fans know I am the QUEEN of!